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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2021-0228

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An improper check for unusual or exceptional conditions vulnerability in Juniper Networks MX Series platforms with Trio-based MPC (Modular Port Concentrator) deployed in (Ethernet VPN) EVPN-(Virtual Extensible LAN) VXLAN configuration, may allow an attacker sending specific Layer 2 traffic to cause Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection to trigger unexpectedly, resulting in traffic impact. Continued receipt and processing of this specific Layer 2 frames will sustain the Denial of Service (DoS) condition. An indication of compromise is to check DDOS LACP violations: user@device> show ddos-protection protocols statistics brief | match lacp This issue only affects the MX Series platforms with Trio-based MPC. No other products or platforms are affected. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series: 15.1 versions prior to 15.1R7-S9; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S11; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R3-S4; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S12; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R2-S8, 18.2R3-S8; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S4; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S8, 18.4R2-S7, 18.4R3-S7; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S4; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S6; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S2; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-S4, 19.4R3-S2; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2, 20.1R3; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R2-S1, 20.2R3; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R1-S1, 20.3R2;

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Improper check for unusual or exceptional conditions in Juniper MX Series with Trio-based MPC when deployed in EVPN-VXLAN configuration allows specially crafted Layer 2 traffic to trigger DDoS protection unexpectedly, causing sustained denial of service. The vulnerability manifests when processing specific LACP frames in the EVPN-VXLAN data plane.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to the fixed versions specified in the advisory; monitor for compromise using 'show ddos-protection protocols statistics brief | match lacp' to detect LACP violations.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
JunosOperating system
Affected:= 15.1= 17.3= 17.4= 18.1= 18.2= 18.3= 18.4= 19.1= 19.2= 19.3= 19.4= 20.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device platform
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or 'show system information' to confirm the device is a Juniper MX Series router
    Affected if Device is not an MX Series router - vulnerability does not apply
  2. Verify Trio-based MPC is present
    Run 'show chassis hardware' and look for MPC (Modular Port Concentrator) line cards with 'Trio' in the description
    Affected if No Trio-based MPC line cards are present - vulnerability cannot be triggered
  3. Confirm EVPN-VXLAN configuration
    Run 'show configuration protocols evpn' and 'show configuration protocols vxlan' to check if EVPN-VXLAN is configured
    Affected if EVPN-VXLAN is not configured - the specific attack surface does not exist
  4. Check Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' and compare the installed Junos version against the affected list: 15.1, 17.3, 17.4, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.1
    Affected if Installed version matches one of the affected versions listed
  5. Monitor for LACP DDoS violations
    Run 'show ddos-protection protocols statistics brief | match lacp' to inspect LACP protocol statistics for unexpected violations or high packet counts
    Affected if Sustained LACP-related DDoS protection violations are observed, especially in EVPN-VXLAN deployments

The environment is likely affected if it is an MX Series router with Trio-based MPC, running an affected Junos version (15.1, 17.3-20.1), configured with EVPN-VXLAN, and LACP DDoS violations are observed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Junos OS to the fixed versions specified in the advisory; monitor for compromise using 'show ddos-protection protocols statistics brief | match lacp' to detect LACP violations.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-0228 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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